New Delhi, Feb 7 (IANS): The Indian hospitality industry is on an upward trajectory with traveller confidence back, led by improved vaccination rates as well as ease in travel restrictions, real estate and investment management company JLL said on Monday.

Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) witnessed a growth of 100.3 per cent year-on-year during October-December 2021. The quarterly RevPAR during the quarter was at 41.9 per cent.

"Whilst the latter part of Q4 started to witness some impact from the Omicron wave, last quarter (Q4, 2021) was largely the best performing period of the last year bolstered by long weekends, holidays during festivals, and social gatherings," the firm said.

Also, the Q4 also witnessed a significant increase in international arrivals as compared to the same period previous year, and it is expected that the next two quarters will witness growth in airline and rail travel, which will, in turn, provide impetus to hotel performances.

"The domestic segment will continue to drive demand for both corporate and leisure travel. As restrictions against social gatherings ease, the social MICE (Meetings Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) segment will improve to provide much-needed business to the industry going forward."

The hotel signings witnessed a significant increase of 81.9 per cent in Q4 2021 as compared to Q4 of 2020.

"...This immediate recovery would not have been possible without improved confidence in the minds of travellers due to the high vaccination rates achieved by the nation. The hospitality sector is likely to recover well in 2022 even as uncertainty around different Covid variants and waves continue," said Jaideep Dang, Managing Director, Hotels and Hospitality Group, South Asia of JLL.